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The new Chicago Architecture Center’s new location at 111 E. Wacker opens to the public on August 31. Housed in a building designed by famed Chicago architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the center celebrates the city’s architectural legacy and presents a vision of its future.

A New York City bill introduced on August 20 would create an ambitious mandate to reduce building energy use by up to 80% by 2050. This framework, the first of its kind in the nation, was made possible by the cross-sector 80x50 Buildings Partnership that represents environmental interests, affordable housing, unions, and the real estate industry.

On Tuesday, New York became the first city to place temporary restrictions on apps like Uber and Lyft, citing the need to further study their impacts on wages and traffic congestion and develop regulations accordingly. The rapid and transformative rise of these apps has raised broader questions about the costs and benefits of innovation, and the public sector’s role in managing them.

Researchers have found evidence of a subglacial lake on Mars, the first indication that the planet currently has a persistent body of water. While it is far from certain whether lifeforms exist, or have existed, in these lakes, future missions now have clearer signposts for further investigation.

An international team of scientists released the first-ever photograph of a planet forming around a star, taken with the Very Large Telescope array. While the birth of a celestial body may seem removed from the day-to-day issues happening here on Earth, it is a reminder of the vast complexity of our universe, which may be beyond full human understanding but is still worth exploring.

Divvy, Chicago’s bikesharing program, celebrates its fifth anniversary on June 28, and I’ve been grateful for the way it has helped me get around. Efforts to ensure equitable access to bikes, including expansive station geography and the Divvy for Everyone program, have the potential to expand mobility on a truly citywide scale.

Aided by Harvard scientists, a carbon sequestration company has announced that it has developed a technology to capture atmospheric carbon and convert it into climate-neutral fuel. Only time will reveal the ultimate impact of this breakthrough, and carbon capture technology in general: while it could circumvent many of the economic disruptions of transitioning from fossil fuels, it may also lessen the urgency of shifting to a truly carbon-free economy.